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Counsels on Diet and Foods
powers, you will not place that high estimate upon salvation and
eternal life which will inspire you to conform your life to the life of
Christ; you will not make those earnest, self-sacrificing efforts for
entire conformity to the will of God, which His word requires and
which are necessary to give you a moral fitness for the finishing touch
of immortality.—
Testimonies for the Church 2:66, 1868
59. Even if you are strict in the quality of your food, do you
glorify God in your bodies and spirits which are His, by partaking
of such a quantity of food? Those who place so much food upon the
stomach, and thus load down nature, could not appreciate the truth
should they hear it dwelt upon. They could not arouse the benumbed
sensibilities of the brain to realize the value of the atonement, and the
great sacrifice that has been made for fallen man. It is impossible for
such to appreciate the great, the precious, and the exceedingly rich
reward that is in reserve for the faithful overcomers. The animal part of
our nature should never be left to govern the moral and intellectual.—
Testimonies for the Church 2:364, 1870
60. Some are indulging lustful appetite, which wars against the
soul, and is a constant hindrance to their spiritual advancement. They
constantly bear an accusing conscience, and if straight truths are talked,
they are prepared to be offended. They are self-condemned, and feel
that subjects have been purposely selected to touch their case. They
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feel grieved and injured, and withdraw themselves from the assemblies
of the saints. They forsake the assembling of themselves together,
for then their consciences are not so disturbed. They soon lose their
interest in the meetings and their love for the truth, and, unless they
entirely reform, will go back and take their position with the rebel
host, who stand under the black banner of Satan. If these will crucify
fleshly lusts which war against the soul, they will get out of the way,
where the arrows of truth will pass harmlessly by them. But while
they indulge lustful appetite, and thus cherish their idols, they make
themselves a mark for the arrows of truth to hit, and if truth is spoken
at all, they must be wounded....
The use of unnatural stimulants is destructive to health and has
a benumbing influence upon the brain, making it impossible to ap-
preciate eternal things. Those who cherish these idols cannot rightly
value the salvation which Christ has wrought out for them by a life of
self-denial, continual suffering and reproach, and by finally yielding